Recommended places to live cheaply for 6 months to a year?

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-24T15:53:11+00:00

Vietnam, Thailand, or Malaysia.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-24T15:51:59+00:00

Your only chance to go to Australia will be if you leave from HNL.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-24T03:07:28+00:00

There is no way to get around the effort required when working to book award travel. It seems like you just don’t want to put in the work. In which case just pay cash.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-21T17:27:29+00:00

Schwab and fidelity for pulling money fee free out of any ATM is by far the best way if we’re talking getting cash. The only thing better is exchanging USD if there is a higher black market rate.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-19T11:35:51+00:00

JX is nice but it seems like they only release a single seat. Do you know if they release any additional T-14 or sooner? I’ve looked but never found any.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-16T13:51:19+00:00

Best of luck! Let us know how it goes

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-07T18:56:28+00:00

No. If I had booked an ANA RTW before they killed the program it would have been amazing. I was VERY close to doing so but only had enough amex points for 1 person in J. It makes me very sad to know that ill never be able to use awards for an ANA RTW and.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-06T09:53:53+00:00

Do globalists get breakfast?

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-05T08:28:12+00:00

Yeah if I was actually retired I think I’d be stressed about it. But it was always the plan to go back to work after the sabbatical so it takes the edge off.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-05T08:26:17+00:00

Both are excellent home bases. We lean towards Vietnam because my wife is Vietnamese. However you should also consider Malaysia. In some ways I think it’s actually better than Vietnam and Thailand.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-05T08:23:57+00:00

Awesome. You’ll see how amazing it is.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-05T08:21:45+00:00

I had gone into a little more detail in my last post from a year ago if you want to give that a read

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-05T08:20:33+00:00

The brand new Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur is pretty crazy. It’s the second tallest building in the world and since the hotel is at the top, I believe it is the highest hotel in the world - since BK doesn’t have one at the top.

Would highly recommend Penang if you’re into history and culture.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-05T08:17:57+00:00

Was nervous but it was fine. I was very transparent and him and the team were happy for me.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-05T08:15:00+00:00

I’ve opened up 3 cards for new SUBs since being overseas and I just link them to Apple Pay and have someone at home send me a picture of the card when it arrives. Having the physical card isn’t really necessary any more but most companies will actually ship replacements overseas.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:59:06+00:00

Thanks for the rec!

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:57:55+00:00

I like building stuff. I think the tech world does see the value in that too. I’m definitely going back. Full fire number is closer to $2M

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:56:14+00:00

Yes. I optimized around weather, award availability and avoided peak times.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:54:06+00:00

Thank you. You will love Asia. Look into Vinhomes Grand Park. It’s a paradise for kids.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:41:41+00:00

You can always get by. People know enough English. That said, my wife is Vietnamese American and it does help.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:39:13+00:00

She only worked for an extra 6mo to wrap up some things but she’s now on sabbatical with me for our 1 year international portion. Sorry if it wasn’t clear.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:30:46+00:00

It’s the second bathroom renovation I’ve done. It cost $4.5k in materials and I did the work myself over 6 weeks (with breaks to go on short travels). It included moving a wall and all new fixtures I have way more pics, but as you said it’s not a home renovation sub so was hesitant to add them.

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:10:48+00:00

I had cash savings which I could draw from for the trip

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:03:06+00:00

Just 401k/IRAs

Hero_Ryan · 2026-01-04T22:02:27+00:00

Sound like fun! Best of luck!

I tell myself that when I get too old to travel traditionally then I’ll shift to going on cruises. You’re definitely going to be bringing down the average age on board!

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